HURRICANE/TROPICAL STORM HARVEY obviously occupied much of the news.  NEVERTHELESS, I have...

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: It was the worst weekend box office overall since the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The Hitman's Bodyguard topped the chart with 10MM on a 53 percent drop. Annabelle: Creation placed with7.4MM on a 53 percent drop.  Leap! showed with 5MM.  Wind River actually zipped up from tenth last week to the fourth slot with 4.4MM and is now close to recouping its modest 11MM production budget.  Logan Lucky rounded out the Top Five with 4.4MM on a 43 percent drop.

RUSSELL BRAND married his partner Laura Gallacher in a ceremony near Henley-on-Thames on Saturday.

TOBE HOOPER, best known for directing The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and “directing" Poltergeist, died Saturday.  He was 74.

AS HURRICANE HARVEY APPROACHED, a hawk got into a taxi cab and refused to leave.

WHAT 35 INCHES OF RAIN DREDGES UP: Hurricane Harvey's unusual path could hit Houston with rain and storm surges at the same time-surfacing gators, snakes, sewage, and coffins.

I'll be back tomorrow, with a more typical selection.

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

... with GRAM PARSONS! As a member of both The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers, and as a solo artist, Parsons anticipated the so-called country rock of the 1970s and the alt-country movement that began around 1990. There is not a lot of GP video floating around, but "Christine's Tune" is a good place to start, though the video for "Older Guys" is great because someone made them go out to christen Judge Smails' sloop. The Hell's Angels make an unfortunate cameo in the clip of "Six Days o­n the Road" from the infamous Altamont festival in 1969. The posthumous video for "Sin City" is nice also. BONUS: Dwight Yoakum covers "Wheels" at a Parsons tribute concert. DOUBLE BONUS: Frequent duet partner Emmylou Harris covers "Return of the Grievous Angel" with alt-country icon Ryan Adams (and Buddy Miller o­n bass) at a different tribute.

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART advance streams The Echo Of Pleasure.

HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR advance streams Omnion.

DAN WILSON stopped by The Current for a chat and mini-set.

FASTBALL covered Dolly Parton's "9 to 5."

R.E.M.: "Don't Go Back to Rockville," very unplugged.

JASON ISBELL talks to the TimesDaily about touring with the family, the Deep South, and more.

THE MOUNTAIN GOATS' john Darnielle talks to The Independent about writing songs and novels.

TORI AMOS talks to PopMatters abouther upcoming LP and tour.

THE 15 BEST TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS SONGS, according to Paste.

NOW SHOWING: This weekend's wide releases are Leap!, which is currently scoring 30 percent on the ol'Tomatometer; and Birth of the Dragon, which went unscreened.  Good Time expands near wide scoring 91 percent.  (Wonder Woman and Baby Driver are re-expanding wide in advance of Labor Day, while Wind River expands wider.)

BRAD PITT's nudes didn't impress Shania Twain, but it wasn't...personal.

GAL GADOT is profiled by Rolling Stone.

JAMES CAMERON calls Wonder Woman "a step backwards." 

THE BATMAN will be part of the DCEU, which some nerds were freaking out about yesterday. >slap<

THE JOKER & HARLEY QUINN may get their own film that isn't The Joker origin film reported earlier this week (which may be directed by Todd Phillips of The Hangover), but another one.

LAURA PREPON has welcomed her first child — a girl — with fiancé Ben Foster.

JAY THOMAS, the comic actor who starred on the sitcoms Mork & Mindy, Murphy Brown and Cheers, has died. He was 69.

RALLY CAT cannot be adopted by the St Louis Cardinals.

THE DOG STOLEN by a Tinder date has been returned.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A duck on a leash on the subway.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A mutant monkey-pig.

TIAN TIAN, the UK's only female giant panda, is pregnant.

DENT MAY shares a video for "Across The Multiverse" (ft. Frankie Cosmos).

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE played unplugged on Danish radio.

THE WOODEN SKY stopped by World Cafe for a chat and mini-set.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED features new tracks from Liars, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Julien Baker and more.

MOURN covers The Replacements' "Color Me Impressed."

MISTER HEAVENLY shares "Hammer Drop."

HOT WATER MUSIC shares "Complicated."

RARE EARTH: "I Just Want to Celebrate." Yeah, yeah.

THE ALLAH-LAS' concert in Rotterdam was canceled due to a terrorism threat, but the band is unharmed.

FLAT DUO JETS are doing reissues and touring with The Blasters.

SNAIL MAIL is the new trend for bands contacting fans, including U2.

NORTHERN SOUL: Ten of the Best.

EMMA STONE & ANDREW GARFIELD: Together again?

MORGAN FREEMAN will receive a SAG lifetime achievement award. I hope they don't make him narrate the intro film. Give the man a night off.

TAYLOR SWIFT is dropping a single today.

ROBERT DOWNEY, JR confirms two major characters for The Avengers: Infinity War.

GAME OF THRONES: George R.R. Martin doesn't watch the show?  No, wait, he does.

NOVA may enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK goes back for script work after an underwhelming presentation to execs.

THE TOP 40 SCI-FI MOVIES of the 21st CENTURY, according to Rolling Stone.

WOLF WARRIOR II breaks China's box office record, and that's serious bank.

A DOGGO was stolen on a Tinder date.

TURTLE TRAFFICKERS busted in Texas.

PYTHON SEASON: Hunters have killed 500 Burmese pythons during an elimination program in the Florida Everglades.

CATS inherit 300K to live in uncaged luxury.

JD McPHERSON shares a video for "Lucky Penny."

TURNOVER advance streams Good Nature.

THE SUBURBS play a mini-set for Daytrotter, including "Love Is The Law."

PORTUGAL. THE MAN stopped by Morning Becomes Eclectic for a session.

CULTS share "I Took Your Picture."

TENNIIS shares "No Exit."

MYNABIRDS share "Golden Age."

THE 200 BEST ALBUMS OF THE 1960s, according to Pitchfork.

THE NATIONAL talks to Stereogum about their adventurous new album.

ANDY SCHAUF talks to Paste about clarinets and more.

SONNY BURGESS, who became one of Sun Records' stars with his raucous and unbridled whoops and howls, accompanied by his furious guitar — died at age 88, on Aug. 18 in Little Rock, Ark.

THE VILLAGE VOICE is ending its print edition, which isn't a music story per se, but for the pre-internet end of Gen X, the Pazz & Jop Poll, and Christgau's Record Guide wereinfluential on many.

MARK WAHLBERG tops the latest Forbes List of Highest-Paid Actors.

KRISTEN STEWART & STELLA MAXWELL have lawyered up, demanding that several websites take down nude photos of them that were illegally hacked.

R KELLY is again accused of having sex with a minor.

JERRY SEINFELD is coming to Netflix; NME and IG have clips.

THE JOKER may become a standalone flick produced by Martin Scorsese.

THE PUNISHER trailer, a post-credits sequence from The Defenders,is now online.

THE 100 GREATEST FILM COMEDIES, according to 253 film critics from 52 countries.

A SNAKE throws up a live gecko, thanks to two of its lizard comrades.

A BLACK BEAR enters a Canadian house, drools over the dining table, gets punched.

MONGO pawn in game of life.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A goat with a human face.

LUNA covers The Cure's "Fire in Cairo," with a video starring Rose MacGowan.

OH SEES stream Orc.

BRAND NEW is streaming Science Fiction.

LEONARD COHEN, Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, June 25, 1976.

ABSOLUTELY FREE covered The Walker Bros' "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" for the eclipse.

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD share "Tezeta."

THE TEMPTATIONS: "Psychedelic Shack." That's where it's at.

ECLIPSE-THEMED SONGS made bank yesterday.

PRINCE: A 30MM deal between Universal Music Group and Prince's NPG Records, being overseen by his estate, is now the subject of a special investigation into whether it should be canceled outright, according to documents filed today in Minnesota.

ST VINCENT: In the follow-up to her breakthrough experimental album, is Annie Clark making a grab for pop success?

THOMAS MARS (Phoenix) & JASON SCHWARTZMAN talk to Pitchfork about musical bachelor parties, trading movie recommendations, and how Schwartzman played an important role in the making of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

ROSE BYRNE is pregnant with her second child.

CHRISSY TEIGEN is cutting back on the booze.

ROBIN THICKE & PAULA PATTON hammered out a custody deal for their 7-year-old son.

KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE dropped...the most important promo ever? (NSFW language)

HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES, based on a Neil Gaiman sci-fi story, has an international trailer online.

GODZILLA vs KONG won't be a draw.

PARAGLIDER vs COW: Who You Got?

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: A turtle with two heads.

SNAKE-MAILING RULES: The More You Know.

A CONSTIPATED GORILLA recovers after surgery.